30/40 Krag ammo

[S&WIowegan]

I was rifling around in my safe and found a 30/40 Krag full-size military rifle. I remember buying it a long time ago; original sale tags still attached. I searched for ammo in the cabinet and found none!

I would like any ideas you all may have on where to source ammo. Local stores just go "DUH"'

Thanks.

 

[6518John]

30-40 Krag Ammo | Bulk 30-40 Krag Ammunition - AmmoSeek.com 2023

 

[DWalt]

You may be able to find some ammunition but it won’t be cheap. If you reload, .303 British cases can be used if you can locate any. Also, .30-40 brass may be more easily found than loaded ammunition. Older ammunition sizes no longer used much are just not widely distributed these days.

I looked at Ammoseek prices above. Wow. Just WOW. You should take up reloading.

I did take a quick stroll through Google, and it seems there are many sellers of unprimed .30-40 brass at prices around 50 cents to $1.00 each.

 

[Nevada Ed]

The 30-40 is a great rifle for fun at the range, but as stated the price of ammo is very high.

I think finding brass, bullets and a die would be best if you plan to shot that rifle a lot.

The 180 or 220 gr. RN bullet is the standard factory load, that feed without any problems, in that rifle.

Being a old timer, you will have a hard time finding ammo but with so many
rifles being sold and used in the USA, it should be doable.

Good luck.

 

[glowe]

Original military rounds were 220 FMJ that ran around 2000fps. That is the ammunition your the gun is sighted for. I once bought a box of 180g and could not get the rear sight down far enough to shoot at 100 yards, so always shot high wit lighter bullets.

You will find most all vintage ammunition was loaded with 220 grains, some FMJ and some soft-point. Had to show an unusual cartridge I found when buying a box of odds & ends 30/40 rounds. Appears a little too long to chamber, so never shot it.

Let me add that these rifles have the smoothest actions of any military rifle I have ever shot. They also can be topped off without opening the bolt. Here is a picture of my Krag along with Philippines War era equipment.

 

[DWalt]

I have several hundred pulled 220 grain .30 RN FMJ military bullets somewhere, not sure whether they came from .30-40 or .30-‘03 cartridges. I have loaded some of them in .30 Remington. They grouped well at 50 yards as I remember, but that was many years ago. They had to be seated deeply.

 

[Baltimoreed11754]

Like your SAW rig there glowe. Picked up a 1896 Krag carbine last year. Great rifle. Smooooth.

 

[CA Escapee]

I was rifling around in my safe and found a 30/40 Krag full-size military rifle. I remember buying it a long time ago; original sale tags still attached. I searched for ammo in the cabinet and found none!

I would like any ideas you all may have on where to source ammo. Local stores just go "DUH"'

Thanks.

I had a neighbor with a couple of .30-40 Krags. (One was passed down through the family and originally used by his grandfather while in the USMC. He was designated as a sniper because of his abilities.)

I bought him HSM ammo years ago. I just checked their website and they have Sierra Game King and Cowboy loads.

You searched for .30-40 Krag - Hunting Shack Ammunition

 

[Rpg]

I keep my eyes open at gun shows for 30-40 ammo. There’s usually someone selling remanufacered ammo that has a box or two.

What I’m actually looking for is surplus 220 gr. military ammo. I usually come up with a box or two.

 

[Targets Guy]

I'm doing the same thing Rpg is doing. I inherited my Krag when my Dad passed in 1965. Ammo has been very hard to get over the last decade so I don't shoot much. About the only reason I go to local gun shows anymore; looking for 30-40 ammo.







I've not fired anything in it but the Remington rounds since 1968.

 

[2152hq]

30-40 has been relegated to the 'Load it once in a while' list by the ammo makers.
I see it at Gunshows quite often, but like all factory ammo, it isn't inexpensive.

Reloading it is easy. It's a great round to load and brass last a long time.
I recently retired a box/20 Remington/UMC brass after the 21st loading as a coupe had a partial head separation.
These were light loads,,12gr of RedDot.

Empty brass is pricey as well.
303 Brit brass is easily formed in a 30-40Krag FL sizer. as mentioned.
It will leave you with a slightly short 30-40Krag case (about 1/16"? maybe) but they work just fine.
Same rim thickness and dia, same base dia, Same Headspace gauge in fact.

I have a 1898 Model in Military form and a '98 that I (re)built as a Sporter.
The sporter is a rescue project from someone else's failed attempts. Came out nice I think. Kind of G&H-ish.

 

[Baltimoreed11754]

Found this one in Baltimore 2 years ago. Was wrapped up in cosmoline. It was mislabeled as 1898, when I cleaned it up it was an 1896.

 

[Rodfac]

I load for two: an Infantry rifle 1898, and a Carbine 1901. If you can find brass, 170 gr .30-30 round nose bullets work very well. I keep velocities to 2200 fps or less. If you're into casting, Lyman's 311291gc, sized to 0.310 and cast from wheel weight alloy works as well as the jacketed types.

I've also had good luck with pulled military M2 bullets at 152 grains. They don't feed quite as well as the round nosed types however.

HTH's Rod

 

[S&WIowegan]

Thanks for your helpful replies

This post is a result of a local shooter buddy who recently bought a 30-40 Krag carbine from that auction house in western Illinois. He hadn't fired it because of winter weather. He has a full-size Krag as well. He also had 20 rounds of handloads. He loaded the carbine and fired but got no recoil of notice. He opened the bolt and found the brass was blown up. Tried one more round....same result. Now he has 18 pieces of usable brass.

My friend is a gunsmith and did some measuring; the chamber is reamed much larger and the bore mikes out to .35". He walked down to check his target and found a keyhole hit 2 targets to the left of aimpoint!

He called RIA and they pointed out he was way past the 30 day window for returns but they decided to take it back and refund him. It clearly has been converted by a capable gunsmith to a different caliber(35 Remington maybe??). Converting old bolt action military rifles was quite common back in the day.

 

[yugolovr]

I found a carbine that my grandfather bought in the 80’s. Someone in its long history put a set of Lyman adjustable rear sight, and a Lyman front post. It’s a very handy little rifle.

 

[Rudi]

I got to shoot a carbine one time. How sweet. I think smaller, local gun shows may be your best bet for ammo. Good luck.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I have passed on several because of ammo problems. Even reloading them isn't easy because of the brass shortage.

 

[cmj8591]

This gun has a little story to it. My friend bought an old house and while he was cleaning out the attic, he found this gun. It was only the barreled action and the bolt. He gave it to me and I took it home because, well, it was still a gun and it needed a home. The bore was horrible and I figured it would end up in the junk parts pile. Not being one to leave well enough alone, I plugged the bore and filled it with Kroil. Every few days, I would pass a bore brush. To my surprise, the rifling started to appear and soon it was looking pretty good. The next thing I did was start looking for parts. I found the rear sight and trigger guard on EBay and the stock is a Boyd's. My photo isn't the best, but if you look carefully at the front sight, it is apparent that the barrel came from a 1903 Springfield. The cocking piece is dove tailed and it had a fold down aperture sight in it when it came to me. I'm sure it was someones budget deer rifle at one point. It shoots really well for having been made in 1895 and I love to take it out at the range when everyone is banging away with their Tactical Tommy AR. It usually gets a lot of looks and questions. I load a 150 grain, FMJ and 35.5 grains of IMR4895. The Krag action is notoriously weak and you really need to treat it as such. One thing I would do before I shot any Krag, even one from a known source, is to have the head space checked. Once you know it's safe, it's a fun and satisfying gun to shoot.

 

[brucev]

A little over a year ago, found a nice sporterized 1898 Krag infantry rifle for sale on the Classifieds. Took most of that year to restore it to issue condition ... i.e., buttstock, bayonet lug, hand guard. Hand guard was almost impossible ... but an exceptional one was found. By the kindness of fellow S&W members, was able to buy needed brass, dies, bullets and even some loaded ammo. Only issue ... front sight is a Lyman replacement blade. Doubt it is going to work well with the 1902 rear sight. We'll see what we see. (Pun intended) !!! Sincerely. bruce.

 

[glowe]

I found a carbine that my grandfather bought in the 80’s . . .

. . . My photo isn't the best, but if you look carefully at the front sight, it is apparent that the barrel came from a 1903 Springfield . . .

If you have not checked your serial number, make sure it falls between 118,894 to 134,256. If not, the barrel was cut from an original 30" Army rifle. Also, all 1903 Springfield 24" barrels have a date stamped right behind the front sight, while Krags did not. A sight would have to be added if the Krag barrel was cut. Good to know what you have if you are planning on selling down the road.